NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Kyler Murray could have spent Wednesday afternoon on a bus, likely traveling from Clinton, Iowa, to Beloit, Wis., for his next series with the Snappers of the Single-A Midwest League.
Instead, he landed here on a private plane.
Thursday’s first pitch at Harry C. Pohlman Field in Beloit is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. — or about 40 minutes before Murray is instead expected to be walking across the stage at the NFL draft and shaking Roger Goodell’s hand as the No. 1 pick.
It has been a whirlwind journey for Murray — from Oakland A’s first-round draft pick in June with a $4.66 million signing bonus to winning the Heisman Trophy last fall as Oklahoma’s quarterback then spurning baseball for a career in pro football. The wild road will culminate
Thursday night, when the Cardinals are expected to make him their franchise quarterback as the linchpin atop the draft.
Arizona, of course, took what it hoped would be its quarterback of the future last year with the No. 10-overall pick in Josh Rosen. But with new head coach Kliff Kingsbury, the Cardinals may be at it again. Kingsbury once recruited Murray to Texas A&M, and said last fall, while the head coach at Texas Tech, that he would take the 5-foot-10, 207-pound dual threat if he had the No. 1 pick. Now he does, making Rosen expendable for a potential draft-night trade or in the days and weeks following.
Almost immediately since he declared for the draft in January, Murray has been expected to go No. 1 overall. The rest of Thursday’s first round, however, still offers plenty of intrigue:
- There has been late buzz about the Redskins trying to trade up into the top five to draft a quarterback, according to NFL Network. They could be trying to nab Dwayne Haskins or Daniel Jones before the Giants would have an opportunity to take either.
The Redskins own the No. 15 pick, but could potentially put together a haul to ensure they get their quarterback of the future. They already traded for Case Keenum earlier in the offseason, but the veteran may just be a placeholder, especially if they can move into the top five by Thursday night. - The Raiders have three first-round picks. What could go wrong?New general manager Mike Mayock will have plenty of decisions to make with head coach Jon Gruden as they enter Thursday with the Nos. 4, 24 and 27 picks. They may be on their own after sending their scouts home early last week because of reported concerns over who they could trust.
- Quarterbacks usually get all the love on the first night of the draft. They will still get their share, but for a change, a stacked defensive class has become the talk of the first round.
- “It’s the best,” Houston defensive tackle Ed Oliver said. “It’s the best D-line class, I think, to ever get drafted at one time.”
Projected top picks include Oliver, Ohio State edge Nick Bosa, Alabama DT Quinnen Williams, Kentucky edge rusher Josh Allen, LSU LB Devin White, Clemson DT Christian Wilkins, Michigan LB Devin Bush, Michigan edge Rashan Gary and Mississippi State edge Montez Sweat.
“It’s nice to get some appreciation on the defensive side,” Bosa said. “You don’t usually see this many edge-rusher and interior guys that get that much praise at the top out here and getting all the media attention. So it’s definitely pretty cool.”